People do all kinds of things for different reasons, and when talking about large groups -- network engineers, security professionals, &c -- you really can't boil down the group and distill the traits of the individual.
Early in my career, when I did a mixture of systems administration and security, my mentor on both of those things was a super-chill, skinny-as-they-come mega-pothead. Exact opposite of a control freak.
Dude was wicked smart, though, and the security mindset that he helped me build has paid dividends over the years.
Personally, I went into management precisely because I worked for a few "control freak" types, and felt that I had a sort of moral duty to build teams free of that sort of environment, even if it meant that I had to swap my text editor for a calendar.
I know many other managers with a similar backstory. None of us want to be the PHB.
As an aside, if anyone reading this is looking at management: look to nudge, rather than control. We learn by making mistakes, and sometimes, you actually do need a report -- or maybe even the entire team! -- to make a mess and clean it up, because the process of doing so will make them stronger, and will benefit your organization in the medium-to-long term.
As with all things, there are trade-offs to be made and balances to be struck! But one of the biggest mistakes I see new managers make is investing the bulk of their energy in preventing mistakes, instead of building a team that can recover-and-adapt quickly.
(Also, a nit, which you might not have noticed: "respect they are due")
Early in my career, when I did a mixture of systems administration and security, my mentor on both of those things was a super-chill, skinny-as-they-come mega-pothead. Exact opposite of a control freak.
Dude was wicked smart, though, and the security mindset that he helped me build has paid dividends over the years.
Personally, I went into management precisely because I worked for a few "control freak" types, and felt that I had a sort of moral duty to build teams free of that sort of environment, even if it meant that I had to swap my text editor for a calendar.
I know many other managers with a similar backstory. None of us want to be the PHB.
As an aside, if anyone reading this is looking at management: look to nudge, rather than control. We learn by making mistakes, and sometimes, you actually do need a report -- or maybe even the entire team! -- to make a mess and clean it up, because the process of doing so will make them stronger, and will benefit your organization in the medium-to-long term.
As with all things, there are trade-offs to be made and balances to be struck! But one of the biggest mistakes I see new managers make is investing the bulk of their energy in preventing mistakes, instead of building a team that can recover-and-adapt quickly.
(Also, a nit, which you might not have noticed: "respect they are due")